Ever After
by khughes830
Summary: Post Wedding 2 on the boat. STORY WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS YOU ARE WARNED. What happens when Zach and Kendall arrive back in Pine Valley
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **not mine, but they have been treated very well this week, so I am OK with that... for now  
**A/N: **Last chance to turn back if you are a spoiler free individual. This story will contain some stuff I've seen about upcoming eps. If you are spoiler free, I would guess that you could start reading next week. Enjoy!

* * *

The knock on the door woke them both. "Excuse, Mr. and Mrs. Slater, I just wanted to let you know that we are about an hour from docking at the marina." She smiled as she felt Zach tighten his arms around her waist.

"Did you hear that?" she whispered into this neck, kissing him lightly.

"Yes. The very rude steward just woke us up to tell us that we are about an hour from the real world."

"Well, yeah, that too, but I was concentrating more on the 'Mrs. Slater' part of his sentence."

Zach opened his eyes slightly and smiled, capturing her lips with his. Kendall got lost in his kiss, like she did every time. She had spent so much time being angry, so much time brooding and being sad. She could kick herself for wasting so much time, for not just admitting that she wanted to be happy. She should have had it out with him that night at the ball and left for Paris. 'So much time wasted…' she thought to herself. She sighed as he broke the kiss.

"What?"

She looked at him. "It's just… I wasted so much time being angry when we could have been… well, like this all along. I'm just…"

He placed his index finger on her lips. "Shh. No more regrets. The past is the past and we can't do anything about that. We made things right last night, so no more looking back, no more being sad about the way things played out. I put that ring back on your finger and that's where it's staying. Got it?" Kendall ran her fingers through his hair.

"Now, my lovely wife… breathe." Just the low rumble of his voice made her shudder. She cocked her eyebrow at him and smirked. "Why, Mr. Slater, you are saying that like you want to have your way with me again."

She sighed as he kissed his way along her neck. "Well, if you insist…"

"I do, but seeing as how we are on a schedule and still need to pack, we need to kill two birds with one stone." He rolled over and pushed himself out of bed. "Care to join me in the shower?" Kendall shot up after him, laughing loudly.

* * *

They sat on the deck, eating breakfast as the boat turned into the marina. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Last chance to ditch real life and head to some unknown exotic destination!"

"Oh stop it" she said, taking a last sip of her tea. "Besides, we need to face the music at some point."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly characterize Erica's screeching as music, but to each to their own."

She just shook her head at him as the steward came by to collect their plates. Zach and Kendall watched the scenery as they docked. When the boat finally came to a stop, Zach got up and held out his hand to her.

"Ready to head home Mrs. Slater?"

Kendall took his hand and stood up. "You bet, Mr. Slater." He smiled and kissed her lightly before escorting her off the boat.

* * *

Zach tipped the steward and they started walking toward the waiting limo when they heard Zach's name from behind them.

"Zach, Zach, please wait!"

They both turned and Kendall froze, watching the woman jog over to them.

"Oh my god…"

Zach turned toward Kendall and grabbed her shoulder. "Kendall, I can explain." The woman caught up to them. "Zach, thank God you're back. I need your help." It was only then that she looked at Kendall.

"Hi Kendall."

Kendall just stared, wide eyed, unable to process. "What the… Dixie?"

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

Kendall was stunned, shocked at see Dixie standing in front of her after all this time, all these years. "I don't… what the… I'm not sure… what is going on?"

Zach grabbed her face with his hands. "Kendall, I swear, I can explain, and I will. You need to know that…"

Dixie grabbed Zach's arm, pulling one hand free from Kendall's face. She pulled him around so that they were facing each other. "Zach, I need your help. I got some information and we need to go…"

Hearing Dixie asking him to leave with her broke Kendall out of her trance. "Wait one damn minute. What the hell is going on here?" she yelled.

Zach glanced at Kendall and looked back at Dixie. "I'm not covering for you anymore, Dixie."

"Wait… You KNEW this whole time that Dixie was alive and you didn't say anything?" she yelled at him.

"Kendall, please…"

"No! How… how could you keep this secret… not tell anyone… WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE…" Zach grabbed Kendall's arms and pulled her flush to his body. She struggled to get out of his grasp, so he held her that much tighter. He pressed a kiss to her temple and put his lips next to her ear.

"Kendall… breathe." He smiled slightly as he felt the tension go out of her body as she exhaled. He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Nothing unforgivable from here on out, remember?"

Kendall nodded. "Alright, I'm sorry."

"Me too. I'll tell you everything."

Dixie pulled Kendall away from Zach. "You can't! You promised."

"Dixie, I've covered for you as long as I can, but I've got other priorities now. So, either you can tell her or you can let me, but either way, it's happening right now."

Dixie looked between Zach and Kendall for a few moments and she knew she was beaten. "Fine, but can we at least get in the limo so that I don't have air all my dirty laundry for everyone else to hear?" Zach looked at Kendall and she nodded. The three of them quickly got in the car.

Dixie recounted her story for Kendall, just has she had done with Zach a few weeks ago. Kendall couldn't believe her ears. She listened to Dixie tell her about the past four years, about what really happened to Kate, about her search for Greg Madden and how it brought her back to Pine Valley. She told them about her unfortunate run-in with JR at the casino and how her world had come crashing down around her.

"But then, I found this" she said, handing a piece of paper to Zach. Zach and Kendall read it and looked back at Dixie. "I can find her, Zach, I can find Kate, but I need your help. I need you to come with me."

He looked at Dixie and then at Kendall, whose wide eyes full of fear were overly convincing. He threaded his fingers through hers and gave her hand a squeeze. He turned back to Dixie. "I'm sorry, Dixie, but I can't. A week ago, I would have been in, no problem, but now… now I've got a family to think about, a woman that I love who needs to me to take care of her. I can offer you a few guys from the casino's security team, but I can't go with you. Not anymore."

Dixie looked between Zach and Kendall and noticed, for the first time, the ring on Kendall's left hand. "You two got remarried." Zach just smiled and nodded. "So, you understand why I can't…"

Dixie held up her hand. "Absolutely. I do need some help, though, so if a couple of your men…"

"Consider it done." Zach pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and in a matter of minutes, he had three men on their way to the marina to leave with Dixie.

"They are at your disposal, Dixie. These are good men; they'll help you with whatever you need."

Dixie nodded and started to get out of the car when Kendall grabbed her arm. "Dixie… I'm… I'm sorry about everything."

Dixie smiled sadly. "Me too, Kendall. You've got a good man there. He's been a lifesaver. Don't let him go again."

Kendall smiled. "I don't plan on it. Good luck."

As Dixie got out of the car, she turned back. "One more thing. Kendall, when you have… I know that you and JR are close and he's… well, he's not doing to great right now so if you could maybe…"

Kendall nodded. "Consider it done." Dixie sighed and closed the door, walking toward the harbor.

Kendall looked back at Zach. "That's who you've been hiding at the casino, in the VIP suite." Zach just nodded. "Since the Mardi Gras Ball?" He nodded again. "OK then." She sighed and looked out the window. Zach scooted across the seat and wrapped his arms around Kendall, pulling her against his chest.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just kind of a shock, you know. She's Dixie Cooney, all that is supposed to be perfect in a mother, but she… stayed away from JR because of Kate, because of one decision she made four years ago."

"Just goes to show you."

She looked over her shoulder. "What?"

"Even the seemingly perfect mother makes mistakes. It happens."

Kendall smiled at him and snaked her hand up his arm and around his neck, pulling him in for a passionate kiss.

As the driver pulled their bags out of the trunk, Kendall stared at the condo complex. "This isn't going to work."

Zach turned to face her as the driver held the bags. "What?"

"We live in two different places."

"Twenty feet from each other's front door. It's not like we live across town from each other."

"But we're married."

"Yeah, and we lived apart before, remember."

She turned to face him. "That was different. This time… well, how the hell am I supposed to go to sleep tonight if you aren't there?"

Zach laughed and dropped a kiss on top of her head. "I'm sorry that you've been under the impression that I'm not staying with you tonight and tomorrow night and every night after that."

"Zach, all your stuff…"

He put his hand over her mouth. "… is a mere twenty feet away. Anything I need, I can get. Stop worrying. Tomorrow, I'll arrange to have my stuff put in storage for now and put the condo up for sale. We'll live in your condo until… well, until we find the perfect how to raise little Spike in."

Kendall kissed his palm and he ran his hand down her arm. "A house?"

"Whatever you want" he said, kissing her lightly along her jaw line.

"OK then. Sorry about the freak out… pregnant and all." Zach threw his arm over her shoulder and they laughed as they walked toward the condo. "My dear, it's completely expected. I'm just surprised it took you this long." She slapped him lightly on the stomach.

Their laughter was short lived as they rounded the corner toward Kendall's front door. "Oh God" she said, glancing up at Zach. Zach looked over his shoulder at the limo driver. "You can leave those there. Thanks." The driver looked from Zach to the other couple standing across the courtyard and then back at Zach. He shrugged and dropped the bags on the bench. He quickly made his exit.

"Can't even get a moment to ourselves before all hell breaks loose, can we?" she said, looking up at him. Zach just shrugged and looked back across the courtyard.

Kendall sighed and let out a deep breath. She looked across the courtyard and smiled brightly at her mother and Ryan.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

"Hello Mother, Ryan. Thanks for the welcome, but we're kind of tired, so if you don't mind…" Kendall said, waving her hand over her shoulder, hoping that that would work, but knowing full well that it wouldn't.

Erica glared at Zach. "Well, I hope that you returned my boat in one piece."

"Mom, I swear, that scratch was there when I left." Kendall elbowed him in the stomach, seeing that joking wasn't the option they needed to be going with right now.

Ryan marched over and grabbed Kendall's suitcase. "We appreciate you bringing her back, Slater, but we've got it from here. I'm sure there's some casino business you need to go take care of."

Zach smirked at Ryan. "Nope, I'm good." The two men just stared at each other, daring the other to blink first. They finally stopped when Erica sighed.

"Zach, you can go now. This is a family thing."

"Well, then, I guess Zach needs to stay" Kendall said, smiling brightly, knowing full well that the next bit of news just may make her mother's head explode.

"Kendall, dear, what in the world are you talking about?"

Kendall looked back and forth between Zach and her mother, trying to find the right words. Erica marched over and pulled Kendall out of Zach's grasp. "Kendall, whatever it is, you can tell me. I'm your mother, I love you, and I support you, no matter what."

"See, Kendall, and you were worried!" Zach said as he leaned against the pillar in the courtyard.

"Zach, really, you can go. Now."

He just shrugged his shoulders. "Can't, promised I wouldn't, it was in the vows."

It was like Erica and Ryan were frozen. They just stared at Zach before turning their attention to Kendall. Erica took a couple of steps back while Ryan took a step forward.

"Kendall, tell me what he's talking about."

Kendall squared her shoulders and met Ryan's gaze. "Zach helped me think through a lot of things while we were on the boat."

"Like what?"

"Like… like I want the baby. I've decided to raise him." Erica shot forward and grabbed Kendall in a fierce hug. "Oh sweetie, that's fabulous news. I knew that you would come to your sense. Now, you can have your family and you and Ryan can…"

"I'M NOT FINISHED" Kendall yelled over her mother's voice. Erica patted Kendall on the elbow. "Of course, dear, I'm sorry."

Kendall took a deep breath. "Zach helped me realize that I wanted to be a mother. No, that's not quite right. He helped me realize that I wanted to be a mother and a wife and…"

Erica squeezed Kendall's elbow. "Oh Kendall, I'm so glad that you've…" Kendall knew where this was going and she knew that she needed to stop her mother before she had the whole wedding to Ryan planned in her head.

"Zach and I got remarried before we came back to town" she said, shutting her mother up. Erica dropped Kendall's arm like it was on fire. "What… you… what did you say?"

"She said that we remarried on the boat before we came back to town" Zach said as he walked up behind Kendall, placing his hands on her shoulders.

Erica whipped around and glared at Ryan. "I told you, Ryan, I told you he would do something to her while they were alone. She was just starting to get over him…"

"No I wasn't" Kendall shouted. Erica looked over her shoulder at Kendall. "Darling, please tell me that this is some kind of joke, please."

"No joke, mother. This marriage is real, very, very real. I love Zach. I was never getting over him, no matter how much I pretended. I tried to be mad, I tried to forget him, I tried everything I could think of, including running away when Dr. Madden gave me the option, but nothing worked. I love him and he loves me, and believe me when I tell you, I could give two craps what you two think about him. I know the real Zach Slater and I know when he's being truthful. He loves me and I believe that, I know it in my heart."

Ryan laughed. "The real Zach Slater, huh? Do you really think I'm going to allow Alex Junior here to raise my son?"

Kendall glared at Ryan. "Stop it, Ryan, just stop it right now. Look, you're the baby's father. Nothing can change that, but you need to face facts – I'm married to Zach. I love Zach. He's a part of my life and he's going to be a part of the baby's life."

"In case you forgot, I've got the whole say so over my son, so…"

"Ryan, look, I've spoken too… well, ok, let's just say that I've got some concrete information on Madden and I'm not going back to him. You don't need the court order."

"Well, it seems that I do."

"Lavery, do you really think that I couldn't find 10 judges to overturn that insidious court order right now?" Zach spit out from behind Kendall. She glared at him over her shoulder. "Not now, Zach." Zach sighed and nodded.

Kendall looked back at Ryan. "Look, Ryan…"

Ryan took a step closer to Kendall. "No way, Kendall. I'm not going to be a weekend Dad while Junior Cambias over there plays full time father to my son. Never going to happen!"

"Ryan, if we could just talk, I'm sure that we could come up with something…"

"We have nothing to talk about. I'm not standing for this, Kendall, not now, not ever!" Ryan stalked out of the courtyard. Kendall sighed and looked back at Erica.

"Look, mother…"

"How could you do this to him?"

"Do what? I'm not giving the baby up, I'm willing to work out some kind of reasonable custody or visitation or whatever."

"Kendall, how could you go marry that… that man without giving Ryan any consideration?"

"Because I don't love Ryan, mother. He may be the baby's father, but he's not the ruler of my world." Erica just shook her head and walked away. Kendall looked at Zach for a moment. He walked over and planted a kiss on her forehead before retrieving their bags. Kendall unlocked the door to her condo and they walked in. Zach pushed the door shut, dropped the bags on the couch and pulled Kendall in for a hug.

"You alright?"

She sighed, relaxing as he ran his hand up and down her back. "I'm fine. I'll give Ryan a day or two to cool off and I'll try to talk to him again. Sorry you had to hear all that."

"It's nothing I haven't heard before." She smiled up at him, feeling all the anger fade away. He leaned in and placed light kisses on her cheek. "You know, Mrs. Slater, I think we need to de-stress."

Kendall waggled her eyebrows at him. "Oh really? Got anything in particular in mind?" With that Zach swept her up in his arms, carrying her back to the bedroom.

TBC…


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **After this, the ansty fun writing begins... enjoy!

* * *

She had forgotten all about Erica and Ryan by the time Zach kicked the bedroom door closed. The feel of his lips on hers always made her forget about the rest of the world and her problems.

"You're tense" he whispered into her ear, sucking her earlobe into his mouth. She couldn't do anything but whimper. "Come here" he said, sliding up onto the bed, his back resting against the headboard. Kendall crawled up onto the bed and positioned herself in Zach's lap and rested her back against his chest. She sighed loudly and closed her eyes as Zach started to massage her shoulders.

His touch was light and soothing and made her whole body feel like it was on fire. She moaned as he kneaded her skin. He found her moaning erotic. He loved that he could elicit that kind of emotion from Kendall Hart. He leaned in and ran his tongue lightly up and down her neck and that seemed to break her.

She pushed herself out of his lap and turned around, launching herself at him. Their tongues dueled with each other and they quickly moved into a frantic type of passion that they had yet to experience with each other. They were slow and methodical on the boat, taking their time with each other that first time. Now, it was like they needed each other to make the world keep spinning, to keep from falling into a hole, like they were the only thing anchoring the other to the ground.

Zach unzipped her dress and pushed the straps from her shoulders. He ran his tongue down her neck and along the top of her breasts. Kendall managed to unbutton half of the buttons on his shirt before he deftly unhooked her bra with one hand and sucked her breast into his mouth. Kendall dug her fingers in this shoulder, concentrating on nothing more than the feel of his mouth on her.

Zach took his time, lavishing one breast, and then the other, with more attention than Kendall thought possible. Kendall ran her fingers through his hair, anchoring herself to him. He finally pulled back as she started to moan his name over and over again. When he looked into her eyes, they were dark with passion and desire and he knew that he wanted to see that look on her face for the rest of his life.

"We're over dressed" he whispered, seeing her eyes widen at the gravely sound of his voice. Kendall pushed herself off of Zach's lap and stood next to the bed. She motioned for him to join her and he did, immediately.

She grabbed him on the neck and pulled him down for a kiss. He consumed himself with the kiss, so much that he shuddered as Kendall ran her hands along the waistband of his pants. She quickly undid the button and slowly slid the zipper down, causing him to curse under his breathe. She laughed.

"Oh, you think that's funny, do you?" Before Kendall could respond, he grabbed her right leg and hitched it up over his waist. He ran his hand slowly along her leg and up her inner thigh, never taking his eyes off of her. As his fingers met her damp panties, she shuddered and he took this opportunity to laugh slightly. She pushed back from him and slipped her dress and panties off her body. She crawled back on the bed and looked up at him with want and desire displayed all over her face.

He divested himself of the rest of his clothes and crawled slowly up her body, stopping for a moment to kiss her swollen stomach. Watching him do that made her love grow that much more. She grabbed his face and pulled him up for a rough kiss. Soon, they were lost to each other, feeling nothing more than love and desire.

His fingers probed her lightly and she started to moan, throwing her head back and closing her eyes. Seeing this blatant display of emotion was something that he hadn't seen from Kendall in such a long time that it turned him on more than he thought possible. Just as she was about to release, he flipped them over and pulled her up on his lap. She straddled his lap and looked at him for a moment. They didn't need to speak; they could see what the other was thinking. Kendall kissed him lightly and slid down on him, slowly, causing both of them to moan loudly.

They moved slowly at first, but as Kendall twisted her hips on top of him and ground herself into him, he couldn't stand it anymore. Kendall wrapped her arms around his neck as he pushed up into her over and over again.

"Zach, oh my… please Zach, just… ZACH!" Kendall screamed his name as she felt her release. She moved over him at a frenzied pace as he moaned. "Kendall… oh yeah… Kendall… KENDALL!" He pulled her flush against his chest as she rode out the aftershocks of their orgasms. As their breathing slowed, she pulled back and looked at him.

"Well… that was…"

"Loud?" he said, smiling at her. She laughed. "Yeah, loud works." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and she crawled off of his lap, curling up next to him. She yawned as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Let's get some sleep, Mrs. Slater. We've had a long day." Kendall nodded and threw her arm over his stomach, feeling safe and comfortable, finally at home in her own skin. Soon, they both fell asleep, wrapped up in each other.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

They spent the next day on what Zach had dubbed their "Pine Valley honeymoon". It consisted of them not answering their cell phones, dining at the casino where they knew they wouldn't be bothered and hiding out in Zach's apartment. They had spent a lot of the day talking, talking about the baby and what they wanted to do, where they wanted to live. Kendall talked about the new facial product and Zach grumbled about the Red Wings. As they slowly made love that night before going to sleep, Kendall knew that this was how her life was supposed to be.

Kendall took a deep breath as the elevator doors opened the next morning. It had been over a week since she had taken off and she wasn't sure what kind of welcome she should be expecting. Simone grabbed her as soon as she walked into the room.

"Kendall! Oh my God… we've been so worried about you!"

"Simone, you're kind of choking me." Simone smiled sheepishly as she let Kendall out of her death grip.

Kendall looked over at Babe and smiled. "Morning!" Babe's eyes got wide and she looked over her shoulders. "I'm sorry, was that directed at me?"

Kendall nodded and sat down across from Babe. "Yes, it was, but who knows how long it will last, so I suggest you take what you can get." Babe smiled and nodded. "OK then. Good morning to you too, Kendall."

Simone perched herself on the corner of Kendall's desk. "OK, spill it. Where the hell have you been?" Kendall glanced around. "Erin here yet?" Simone shook her head while taking a drink of water. "No, not yet. At least we haven't seen her. Why, what's up? Where have you been?"

Kendall sighed and leaned back in her chair. She started in on the last confrontation with Ryan and how sent went to see Dr. Madden after that. "At first, it seemed like the perfect situation – I would get away from everything and relax."

"So, where did you go?" Simone asked.

"Madden's private island resort."

Babe choked on her coffee. "What? Madden owns an island! That's… creepy."

"You don't even know the half of it." Kendall proceeded to tell them about how the only people on the island were pregnant women like her and how they all seemed to worship the ground that Madden walked on.

"And then, I woke up and found him standing at the foot of my bed, watching me sleep." Simone and Babe just stared at her, mouths hanging open. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, I knew that I had to get out of there, but Zach beat me to the punch."

"Zach?" They both asked at the same time.

Kendall giggled. "Yeah, he stole Erica's boat and came and got me. At first, I was mad… but now…" She just smiled and fiddled with the ring on her left hand. Simone's eyes got very wide and she pointed at Kendall. "What the hell is that!" she yelled, pointing at Kendall's hand.

Kendall looked down and smiled. "My wedding ring. Zach and I got remarried before we came back to town." Simone screeched and jumped off the desk, pulling Kendall up into another hug.

"Oh my God… Kendall… I can't believe that you and Zach… no wait, you know what, I can believe it. It's totally you and Zach. I'm so happy for you!" Simone pulled back and looked at Kendall. "Wait, what about the baby?"

"I'm keeping him… we're going to raise him." Simone just smiled. "Kendall, that's great, really, I'm so happy for you."

Babe looked over with sad eyes. "That's great, Kendall, really. I'm glad that…" Babe sighed and looked down. Simone looked at Kendall and shrugged her shoulders. "Babe, what's wrong?" Kendall asked.

"It's just… oh, you don't really care, so I won't…"

"Babe, I'm in a very loving mood right now. Once again, who knows how long it will last, so I recommend that you take advantage while you can."

Babe smiled. "It's just… things have been so bad with JR right now with… wait, you don't know, do you?"

"Dixie is back. We saw her at the marina. She was looking for Zach."

Babe just nodded. "Yeah, Dixie. He's been a mess since he first saw her and he's not talking to me and I don't know what the hell to do anymore. He doesn't seem to trust anyone and I'm afraid for all of us."

Kendall nodded. "Look, what if I talk to him, see if I can get through. We've been through some stuff, so I might be able to…"

Babe looked at her with tears in her eyes. "Kendall, I would owe you forever if you could help him."

"I'm doing this for him, Babe, not you. He needs help and we go way back. I'll be there for him if he'll let me." Babe pulled out her cell phone. "Do you want me to call him, see if can come down here now or…"

"See if he can come this afternoon. I've got to catch up on some of this and then I'm meeting Zach at the Valley Inn for lunch." Babe dialed, but sighed as she got his voice mail. "Hey JR, it's me. I was wondering if you could come down here after lunch..." Babe cussed and snapped her phone shut. "Damn voice mail cut me off. I'll try again later."

Kendall nodded and sat back down in her chair. "OK then. Let's get to work. Get me caught up on the summer launch." For the next few hours, the three of them worked in tandem, getting caught up and ahead on paperwork and planning. Kendall looked at her watch and cussed, grabbing her purse. "I'm late. I'll be back after lunch."

* * *

Zach just shook his head and smiled as she walked in, rushing toward him. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and sat down. "I'm sorry. I got caught up in the mound of paperwork on my desk."

"Kendall, it's fine." The waiter came over and took their order and they spent a leisurely lunch talking. Slowly, Zach slid his chair around the table so that they soon found themselves sitting next to each other, whispering in each other's ear. Kendall's eyes went wide and she slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Why Mr. Slater, that is very inappropriate to be thinking about in a public place like this!"

Zach was about to respond when a voice from behind them interrupted. "I'll tell you what's inappropriate – getting married without any family present!" Zach and Kendall looked over their shoulders and smiled.

"We're in for it now, aren't we?" Zach said as he smiled sheepishly at Bianca with Miranda perched on her hip.

TBC…


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **I swear, if Eden is back for three weeks and all we get is her talking to ComaKendall, I'm putting a hit out on McTavish!

* * *

Zach stood up and kissed Bianca on the cheek. "Well, this is a nice surprise." Bianca just glared at him. "How was your trip?"

"You two got MARRIED and I had to hear about it from MOM!" she yelled at them. Kendall looked around to see the rest of the patrons staring at them. She stood up and pulled out the extra chair for Bianca. "Binks, could you please, maybe, not make such a big deal out of this and just sit down!"

"NOT A BIG DEAL!" Bianca's eyes got huge.

"Mom!" Miranda said, covering her ears with her hands. "Shhh!" Bianca looked at her daughter while Zach bit his lip, trying not to laugh, but Bianca caught him. "Oh, you think this is funny? Fine, you take her." Zach leaned over and grabbed Miranda, tickling her lightly under her arms. Miranda laughed and wrapped her arms around Zach's neck, whispering in his ear. Bianca just shook her head and grabbed Kendall, hugging her. "I just… I can't believe you got married AGAIN and I missed it AGAIN."

They all sat down and Kendall smiled at Bianca. "Binks, it's not that I'm not excited to see you, but… well, what are you doing here?"

Bianca sighed. "Mom called."

"Figures" Kendall spit out. "What did she say?"

"Well, you know mom – she barely looks at a clock when she calls me, so we were all asleep when she called. I picked up the phone and the first thing I hear is 'your sister REMARRIED that man'." Kendall dropped her head. "Yeah, and the whole conversation kind of went downhill from there. I was only able to get off the phone when I finally promised to get here as soon as I could. She's hoping that I can talk some… how did she put it… oh yeah, talk some sense into you. I came so that I could lay into you two in person. I swear to God, there better be some pictures this time!"

Zach looked over at Kendall, his eyebrows high on his head. Kendall sighed and looked back at her sister. "Well, Binks… you see… I guess… see, it was kind of off the cuff and sudden, so…"

"So, what you're saying is that not only did you decide to go off and elope, but I don't even get to look at one picture of you in a dress or anything?" Kendall just shook her head at her sister. "Fine, that's it. After you have this baby, we all go back to Paris and you two do a vow renewal or something – cause I WILL have a picture of you two all dressed up!"

"Look, Binks… wait, what? Did you just say? Are you… you're staying till Spike is born?"

Bianca smiled and nodded. "Wondering how long it was going to take you to… wait, Spike? Please tell me that…"

Kendall patted her stomach. "Yeah, Spike." Bianca looked over at Zach, who had been watching the exchange with a very amused smile on his face. "Spike?" Zach just shrugged. "The lady wants Spike, the lady gets Spike!" Bianca just closed her eyes and shook her head. "You two are going to be the death of me." The three of them laughed while Miranda pulled on Zach's tie. The waiter came over and delivered their food and took an order for Bianca and Miranda. They sat and talked. Kendall filled in Bianca on all the wedding details and how Zach had rescued her from Madden's island.

"So, I take it mom and Ryan aren't exactly on board with the latest Slater union, are they?" Bianca asked as the waiter cleared their table.

"Not so much" Kendall said, sighing. "I'm going to try to talk to Ryan tomorrow, see if he's calmed down any." Kendall looked down at her watch. "Oh, I've got to head back. JR's supposed to be at Fusion by now and I promised Babe that I would try to talk to him for her."

Bianca looked at her, confused. "Why? What's going on with JR?" Kendall sighed, looking at her sister. "Talk about another long story."

Zach patted Kendall's hand. "Why don't you take Bianca with you – if one Kane woman doesn't convince him, I bet two will do the trick."

Kendall looked at her sister. "Well, maybe him seeing you would be a shock to his system?" Bianca looked over at Zach. "What about Miranda?"

"Oh, I've got her. We'll go hang out at the casino till you come pick her up? Or I can just meet you back at the condo later?"

"See-no!" Miranda yelled from Zach's lap, grabbing the last French fry off her plate. Bianca just laughed. "Well, it's settled then." The four of them got up and headed out. As they reached their cars, Bianca gave Zach the keys to her rental. "It's already got the baby seat in it. We can come get the extra car later tonight." Zach nodded and took the keys. They got Miranda situated. Bianca gave her daughter a kiss. "You be good for Uncle Zach, alright?"

"Not to worry, Bianca, we won't get into too much trouble. I've got some spoiling to do anyway."

"Poiling!" Miranda yelled from the backseat. Bianca just laughed and shut the car door. Kendall draped her arm over her sister's shoulders as they watched Zach drive away. "You think he's got any idea what he's in for this afternoon?" Bianca asked Kendall. "None" she replied. They both laughed as they got in the car and headed back to Fusion.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **OK, so I'm tired of Kendall being pregnant. I feel like she's been pregnant forever and I'm over it. Also, soooo not into ComaKendall and all the voice overs. I'm fixing that here!

* * *

Kendall and Bianca were laughing as they walked through the elevator doors. Zach had already sent them a picture of Miranda "working" one of the poker tables. "She'll be a little entrepreneur yet, you just watch Binks." Bianca laughed and looked around.

"Wow, does this place never change? I would have thought Babe would have come in and tried to turn the place upside down!"

Kendall dropped her purse on the desk. "She tried and we fought, but… well, one of her ideas isn't half bad."

"What's that?"

"A daycare. She brought it up about a month ago when I was still… confused. We fought, I told her no way in hell, but now… well, come on. We're going to put it back here." Kendall led Bianca through the hallway. She turned on her heel and started walking backwards.

"We're going to do a mural leading down this hallway and then once the kids get to this room" she said as she walked backwards through the doorway "they are going to be…"

"KENDALL!"

Kendall felt her sister's hands on her forearms as she felt something hit her back, pushing her into Bianca. Kendall fell to her knees, breathing heavily. She looked over her shoulder to see the debris of the construction site strewn across the floor. Bianca dropped to her knees next to Kendall.

"Kendall! Oh my God, are you…" Kendall winced slightly, grabbing her lower back. "That's going to hurt like hell in a little while. What the hell happened?" With that, they heard rustling coming from behind them. They looked up to see JR stumbling out from behind the now empty stand.

JR's eyes went wide when he saw Bianca and Kendall kneeling on the floor. He dropped his flask and ran over to them. "What the… I thought… Babe called…"

Kendall pushed herself off the floor with Bianca's help and glared at JR. "Did you… did you push all this stuff over?" Kendall winced slightly, feeling more pain now that she was standing up. Bianca walked across the room and picked up the flask. She turned it over and shook it. "It's completely empty, Kendall."

JR leaned into Kendall, trying to wrap his arms around her waist. "Kendall, are you… I mean… what…" Kendall pushed him away, waving her hands in front of his face. "Oh my God, you are stinking drunk! What the hell were you thinking?"

JR looked at her with sad, drunk eyes. "I thought that you were Babe and…"

Bianca shoved him from behind, causing him to stumble. "And what? You were trying to, what JR, teach her a lesson? Kill her? What!"

JR glared at her. "You don't know… Janet said… and then I saw her with my brother… I have to protect my son!"

"You're crazy!" Bianca screamed at him. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. JR dropped to his knees, staring at the debris. Kendall grabbed her lower back and walked over to Bianca. "Who are you calling?"

"The police. I think JR could benefit from 24 hours in the drunk tank." Bianca spoke quickly into the phone and hung up. They just stood there and watched as JR mumbled incoherently about Babe and his son. Derek arrived about 10 minutes later and, after taking one look at the scene, immediately arrested JR.

As the police officers led JR away, Kendall moaned and leaned against the wall, her hands grabbing her back.

"Kendall?" Bianca asked as Kendall slid down the wall, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Bianca looked over at Derek, who was next to Kendall in an instant.

"Did she get hit?" he asked.

"Umm… yeah, some of the concrete and metal hit her back. I tried to grab her and get her out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough."

"Kendall?" Derek put his hand on her cheek, then her forehead. Kendall moaned loudly. Derek pulled his walkie talkie out of his pocket. "Simpson, call for an ambulance right now. I think we've got a problem."

Bianca sat down next to Kendall, pulling her head against her shoulder, shushing her whenever she cried in pain, telling her that everything was going to be fine.

TBC…


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

"Read dis!" Zach smiled and grabbed the file from Miranda's little hands. He pulled her up on his lap and opened the file.

He looked down at her. "You sure?" Miranda nodded her head vigorously and Zach just laughed. "Well, if you insist. Well, this, my dear, is an intriguing story about the Seasons East Casino and the estimated profits for the third quarter…" For the next half hour, Zach read the mind-numbingly boring report allowed while Miranda cooed and laughed when he said a word she thought was funny.

The intercom buzzed. "Thank God" he said under his breath, hitting the button. "Yes Edie."

"Zach, Bianca Montgomery is on line 3 and she sounds… frantic." Zach grabbed the phone off the hook and punched the button for line three.

"Bianca?"

"Oh God… Zach… Kendall…"

"Bianca, you need to tell me what is going on!"

"There was… JR was drunk when we showed and up he thought we were Babe… Oh my God, Zach, he knocked over all these supplies and… well… I tried to get her out of the way, but I wasn't fast enough and some of the concrete blocks hit her back and she… she collapsed in pain and Derek had to call an ambulance and…"

"We're on our way" Zach said, doing his best to stay calm so that he didn't completely frighten Miranda. He swooped the little girl up in his arms and bolted out of his office, calming telling Edie that he had to go to the hospital and that he would call her later.

* * *

The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever. He had forgotten that he had Bianca's rental, so he spent 10 minutes stalking around the parking lot till one of the valets reminded him that he didn't come back from lunch in his car. He also would have sworn that he hit every red light between the casino and PVH.

He flew through the doors with Miranda on his hip. Bianca was waiting for them. She grabbed Miranda from Zach. "I told Julia you were coming. She's waiting for you at the nurses' station." Zach nodded at Bianca and ran off in that direction.

Julia grabbed him as he was rounding the corner. "Zach, come on. She's over here!" Julia pulled him through one of the emergency room doors and he just stared.

He had never seen her look so scared in his life. "Zach!" He grabbed her extended hand and looked at her.

"Are you alright?" He asked as he ran his hands over her face and through her hair.

"I don't know. My back is killing me and… Spike… I'm not sure what's going on." Just then, Joe and two other doctors came in. "OK Kendall, we need to go." With that, the nurses pushed Zach off the bed and started to get the bed ready to move.

"Zach!" Kendall cried out as the wheeled her out of the room.

* * *

Bianca handed Miranda off to Jamie, who promised to keep her entertained while she made some calls. Ryan wasn't at Cambias or answering his cell phone. Val told Bianca that Erica was filming a segment for the show, but once she told Val what had happened, he ran to get her from the set. The tears started running down Bianca's face when she had to tell Erica what had happened.

"I don't know Mom… no, I haven't seen her since we got here… no, Zach's in there… mother, just stop, he's her husband, he's who should be…" Bianca stopped when she saw the doctors wheeling Kendall out of her room and down the hall, Zach hot on their heels.

"JOE!" He kept screaming Joe Martin's name over and over again. "Mom, get down here now!" Bianca snapped her phone shut and took off when Jamie waved her on. Bianca rounded the corner as Joe was coming back out of the surgical bay.

"Joe, tell me what the hell is going on with my wife right now!" Joe took a step back in surprise, not sure if he should believe Zach or not. Bianca stepped up next to Zach. "It's true, Joe, so just tell us what's going on."

Joe nodded. "Well, it would seem that the falling debris caused part of the placenta to rip and hemorrhage. Right now, the baby's not getting enough oxygen, so we've got to get him out."

"It's too soon" Zach whispered.

Joe shook his head. "No, it's not. He'll only be about a month early, so his prognosis should be fine, as long as we get him out now. If you want to see her, go now, because you can't go any further once we roll her into surgery."

Zach nodded and pushed the doors open. Kendall had tears streaming down her face. He walked over and pressed a light kiss on her forehead.

"It's too soon."

Zach did his best to put on a brave face. "Nah… he's got your blood running through him. He's just making a grand entrance."

"You're supposed to be in there with me, letting me cuss at you and try to break your hand and all that other good stuff."

"Next time" he whispered in her ear. That made her smile. Joe cleared his throat from behind them. "Zach, Kendall, we need to go."

Zach nodded and kissed Kendall lightly on the lips. "I'll see you soon." She nodded and laid her head back down as they wheeled her into surgery.

Zach sighed and walked back out into the hallway. Bianca wrapped her arms around her brother-in-law, knowing that there were no words that she could say right now that would be of any consequence.

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **This was pointed out to me earlier - I decided not to roll back the age of the baby, like the show has done. Ryan said (on the show) about two weeks ago that she was pretty far along, so that's what I'm sticking with. Enjoy!

* * *

He was about to jump right out of his skin, she knew this. "Zach, why don't you go get some fresh air?" That was the third time she had suggested that in the last 45 minutes and his response had been the same. He shook his head and kept pacing back and forth, wearing a hole in the floor. She was glad that Jackson had been able to convince Erica to take Miranda back to Myrtle's – Zach and Erica had been snapping at each other since Erica had walked in.

She watched him stop and stare at the surgical doors and then down at his watch. "It's been two hours. What the hell could be taking so damn long?" She had learned that he was not interested in answers or responses, so she just remained silent. They had spent the better part of an hour watching nurses move in and out through the door, none of them giving any answers when Zach yelled questions at them.

Zach put his hands on the door and took a deep breath. "That's it!" he said, throwing open the doors to reveal Joe Martin standing there. He just smiled. "About to storm the surgical bay, Zach?" Bianca shot out of her chair. "Joe, please, is she…"

Joe pulled the cap off his head. "Well, there was some bleeding after we got the baby out, but everything is patched up now and they both seem to be doing fine."

Zach's eyes got wide. "But, they are…"

Joe put his hand on Zach's shoulder. "Going to be fine, yes they are. Now, Kendall is going to be out a little bit longer. You can see her once we get her moved out of surgery and into her room, in about an hour or so, but the little guy is already up in neo-natal if you want to head up and see him." Zach just smiled and shook Joe's hand. "Thanks, Joe. Really, thanks." Joe just nodded and headed down the hall.

Zach turned to Bianca and pulled her in for a hug. They both stood there smiling, relieved to know that everything worked out fine. Bianca pulled back and nodded at Zach. "Look, I need to go call Mom and Jackson and let them know that everything is fine and try to talk Mom out of storm the hospital right now. I'll do my best to keep her from coming until tomorrow, but I'm not sure if that's going to be possible. Then, I'm going to get us some food and I'll meet you at Kendall's room. Go see our little man." Zach nodded and they headed off.

* * *

He was lost in thought about everything he needed to have done in the next couple of days before he brought Kendall and Spike home that he about passed up the door he was looking for. The nursery sign caught his eye and he pushed the door open.

He stood in front of the window, looking in. There were only a couple of babies in this unit right now, but Spike immediately jumped out at him, with a head of curly brown hair, just like Kendall's. Zach stood there, watching the baby sleep when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"His vitals are very strong" Julia said to him, smiling up. "He's got quite a set of lungs on him, but I wasn't very surprised. I mean, he is Kendall's son, after all." Zach just laughed.

Julia turned and leaned against the window. "Heard that you two got remarried before you brought her back to town?"

"Yeah, we did" Zach said, never taking his eyes off of the baby.

"I'm not sure if I should congratulate you or wish you luck."

Zach glanced over at her. "Julia, don't…"

She smirked at him. "I mean, after all, Erica Kane is your mother-in-law. That should make for some interesting Christmases." Zach laughed. Julia cocked her head toward the babies.

"You want to go see little…"

"Spike."

Julia's eyes got wide. "Excuse me? Did you just say…Spike?"

Zach nodded. "Yes, I did. Kendall decided that what his name is."

Julia let out a deep breath. "Ok, then, Spike. So, do you want to go see Spike?"

"Yes I do."

Julia pushed the door open. Zach was about to enter when he was grabbed on the arm, pulling him back into the hallway. He spun around and came face to face with Ryan Lavery.

"I don't think so, Slater."

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **OK, so Ryan's reappearance has people fired up, so I can only imagine what this chapter will do. I do want to apologize to anyone who may be a Maria fan - but I'm not. I found her annoying when she came back and utterly detestable by the time she left. Hence, her use here.

* * *

Zach looked down at Ryan's hand on his arm and then back up at Ryan. "You really think that's the wisest idea, Lavery?"

Ryan just glared at Zach. "Yeah, I do." Zach ripped his arm out of Ryan's grip and pushed him back.

"Zach, are you…" Julia popped her head out of the door and stopped when she saw Ryan and Zach staring at each other. "Is everything alright?"

Zach looked over his shoulder and nodded at Julia. "Everything's fine, Julia. I've got to take care of this and then I'll be in. If you don't mind, will you make sure that the baby is…"

"Yeah" she said, quickly closing the door.

Zach turned back to Ryan and shoved his hands in his pocket. "Good of you to finally show, Lavery. Thought maybe you had fallen off a cliff for real this time."

"Oh, that would just be your dream, right Slater. Me gone for good."

"Well, it has crossed my mind a couple of hundred times, but I'll deal. Now, if you don't mind…" Zach turned on his heel to head into the nursery, but Ryan grabbed his shoulder and whipped him around, pushing him into the wall.

"Lavery, I'm warning you… one more time and you'll really regret it."

"And I'm warning you, Slater, stay the hell away from my son."

Zach sighed. "Look, Lavery, Kendall wants to talk to you about this whole situation we have ourselves in. She wants to work something out, visitation or whatever, so that we all can live…"

"Oh, Kendall deciding on visitation isn't going to happen."

Confusion clouded Zach's face. "What did you do?"

"What's best for my son."

"And that would be?"

"Me having full custody. He's going to live with me full time, I'll raise him and I'll be the one deciding on whether or not Kendall gets to see him."

"Ryan, don't do this. She's not going to fight you anymore, but you can't do this to her."

"Just like her remarrying you so that you could get your hooks into my son."

"Ryan, I will love the boy and protect him, but he's yours, I know this."

"Yet, it didn't stop you from marrying the mother of my son, did it!"

"Lavery, the two aren't mutually exclusive! Me marrying Kendall has nothing to do with your ability to help raise your son."

"So, what, Slater? I'm just supposed to sit back and play weekend Daddy while you get to spend every day with my son, tucking him in, teaching him to read, to walk, to talk. No, I don't think so. You don't get to fix your Ethan mistakes and regrets on my son. No way."

"Ryan, this has nothing to do with Ethan!"

"Sure it doesn't" Ryan said, laughing slightly. Seeing Ryan joking about this set Zach off.

"You know, fine Lavery. You want a fight, you've got yourself a fight. But, I don't know how you think you could possibly pull this off. No judge in their right mind would grant custody to a single dad versus a married couple. You've got to realize that you are fighting an uphill battle."

"Who said anything about being a single dad?" Ryan raised his left hand and wiggled his fingers. The light bounced off the gold band on his ring finger.

"Oh God, Lavery. Please tell me you didn't drag some poor innocent woman into this delusion of yours?"

Ryan just smiled. "Oh no, she was more than willing to help me out. In fact, she volunteered after I told her what you were trying to do to me."

"Right, Lavery, whatever. You really think this is the way, entering into a sham marriage?"

"But, Zach, we did learn from the master of sham marriages. Hell, maybe we'll even end up living happily ever after like you and the little missus." Zach froze as the voice sounded from behind him. He looked at Ryan, who was smirking at him. "You didn't?"

Ryan just shrugged. "Meet the new Mrs. Lavery, Slater."

Zach slowly turned on his heel and stared at Maria, who was smirking at him and holding her left hand in the hair, showing him a wedding band that matched the one Ryan was wearing.

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **Boy, does this have people riled up! Didn't realize there was such a MariaHate contingent out there!

* * *

Zach just stared at Maria. She smiled coyly and walked toward him. "Long time no see Mr. Slater" she purred as she walked past him, running her fingers along his chest. She walked over to Ryan and he threw his arm around her shoulder, both smirking at Zach Slater, who was completely lost for words.

Zach shook his head, breaking himself out of his trance. "Ok, what the hell is going on here?" Maria looked up at Ryan and shrugged. Ryan turned back to Zach.

"Well, not that it's any of your business, but I was just a little upset after I found out the mother of my child went and married… you of all people. How she ever expected me to be alright with this situation, I'll never know. I needed someone to talk to, to vent to, and well… Maria's always been a good friend, someone who would listen, so I gave her a call. After Ethan died, she told me that if I ever needed anything, just to give her a call."

Zach was appalled, but Ryan continued. "We talked for, what?"

"Like, hours that night" Maria responded, smirking at Zach.

"Yeah, for hours, until Maria said there was only one thing I could do. If I wanted to fight back and have a chance, I needed to get married as well."

Zach glared at Maria. "And what, you just volunteered to help him out?"

"Well, being the generous soul that I am, I figured that I would offer."

"So," Ryan continued "I hopped on the Cambias jet and flew out to San Diego to meet up with Maria. We made a quick stop in Vegas…"

"Even got married at the Seasons, just in your honor" Maria said, eyeing Zach up and down. He suddenly felt sick.

"Yes, yes we did. And then we came back here to get my son. Filed the paperwork first thing this morning and headed right over here."

Zach's eyes got wide, shock turning to anger. "Filed what paperwork?"

"For sole custody, Slater. We've already discussed this. In fact, if I'm not mistaken" he said, turning his left wrist up to glance at his watch "the court messenger should be serving Kendall with the papers right about now."

Zach took two steps toward Ryan and grabbed the front of his shirt with his hands, pulling him closer. "What do you mean? You mean that while Kendall is recovering from major surgery, you're dropping this in her lap."

"She really didn't leave me with any kind of choice, did she? No, she didn't. She took away my choice the minute she said 'I do' to you, so I had to do what I had to do." Ryan pushed Zach away and into the wall. "Now, if you don't mind, the wife and I have some things to take care of." Ryan threw his arm over Maria's shoulder again and they walked down the hallway. As they reached the corner, Maria glanced over her shoulder and winked at Zach.

"Why are you doing this, Maria?" Ryan and Maria stopped and she turned back toward him.

"I have my reasons Zach. I'll be seeing you." Zach could only stare as they disappeared around the corner. Immediately, his thoughts turned to Kendall and he shot off in the direction of her room.

* * *

He threw open the doors of her room and found her crying, Bianca hugging her tightly, a blue court document lying on Kendall's legs.

Zach just shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. "That son of bitch…" he said. Bianca looked up at him with questioning eyes and he crossed the room to his wife and sister-in-law.

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **Wow! Never really expected this story to bring out the kind of emotion that it has. It's kind of fun for me since I know where it's going. I swear, all will end up as it should. As for why Maria married Ryan when Jon killed Edmund - I'll be honest, I had forgotten about that. I also find that soap characters can change on a dime - remember, everyone is supposed to bow to Babe even though she kept Miranda for a year. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Bianca stood up and Zach immediately replaced her, wrapping his arms around Kendall, bringing her head to rest on his chest. He leaned back and let her sob into his shirt. Bianca picked the court order off of Kendall's legs and just read it over and over again, like she didn't really believe what he was seeing.

As Kendall's sobs started to subside, she looked up at him. "Why?"

Zach just shook his head. "I wish I knew, Kendall, I wish I knew."

Bianca whipped around. "He can't possibly think that he's going to win! I mean, it's him versus you and Kendall – two parents versus one. It's not…"

Zach shook his head. "Bianca, it's not… he's… he's got some help."

Bianca crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean he's got some help?"

Zach let out a deep breath and dropped a light kiss on Kendall's forehead. "I just ran into him at the nursery. I was going to go in and check on the baby, but he stopped me and informed me that… well, that he got married."

"MARRIED!" Bianca yelled at the top of her lungs. "Who the hell…"

"Maria." It was like the air got sucked out of the room. Bianca's eyes went wide and he felt Kendall go rigid in his arms. Kendall pushed herself up and looked at Zach.

"What?"

Zach ran his hand over her hair. "Apparently Ryan called Maria after he left the condo the other day and, well… it would seem that they decided to get married so that Ryan could get the baby."

"I AM GOING TO KICK HER ASS!" Bianca screamed, throwing the court order across the room.

"Get in line" Kendall growled back at her.

"Ok, ok, ok. Everyone needs to take a breath." Zach looked over at Bianca. "How long ago was the messenger here?"

Bianca scrubbed her hands on her face and sighed. "He left about 2 minutes before you got here. I swear, Zach, she's only been awake for about 20 minutes. He must have been watching through the window, waiting for her to wake up. He just walked in… I guess we just thought he was going to be a doctor or something. He asked which one of us was Kendall Hart Slater and when Kendall volunteered herself, he served her with the papers. Didn't even stick around for questions, just dropped this in our lap and left!"

Zach nodded and turned back to Kendall. "Are you alright?"

"Well, I'm a little sore and really pissed off now, but yeah, otherwise, I'm fine."

"Ok then."

Kendall grabbed his face. "Zach, what the hell are we going to do?"

With that, there was a knock on the door. Julia stuck her head in. "I heard you were awake, so I thought I would bring the baby down." Bianca pulled the door open and Julia wheeled in the baby, who was sleeping peacefully. They were all silent as Julia picked him up and handed him to Kendall. "I'll be back in a little bit to see how things are going." She quickly left the room.

Zach, Bianca and Kendall just stared at the baby in her arms. She looked up at Zach with tears in her eyes. "He's not getting this child" she said resolutely.

"You bet your ass he's not. This ends now. I'm going to go call Jackson, see what he can do. Bianca, will you stay with her till I get back?"

"Of course."

"OK, I'm going to get hospital security to stand guard until I can get some guys from the casino over here. I just want to make sure that Ryan and/or Maria don't try to sneak in here or something." He dropped a kiss on her head and on the baby's head. "I'll be back soon." Zach shot out of the room, determined to fix this.

Tears streamed down Kendall's face as she looked up at Bianca. "I want this baby, Binks. I want him so much. Why… why are they trying to take him from me now?" Bianca had no answers, nothing that would help make her sister feel better. She just shook her head and sat down in the visitor's chair, watching Kendall and her nephew, vowing silently to make sure that they were happy and together.

TBC…


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

Zach took a deep breath and looked through the window. His heart broke as he watched tears fall down Kendall's face as she talked to the baby. He cursed under his breath and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, walking down the hall.

"Hello."

"Jackson, its Zach."

"How's Kendall?"

"She's doing fine, but we've got ourselves a problem in the name of Lavery."

"What the hell has he done now?"

"He's suing for custody, full custody."

"Why that son of a… he can't possibly think that he will win."

"Well, he does now that he's found himself a wife."

"Excuse me? Did you just say a wife?"

"It would seem that Maria Santos has hitched herself to Lavery."

"You're kidding."

Zach ran his hand through his hair. "I wish I was."

"What do you need me to do?"

"Get us emergency custody now so that we can take the baby home. I guess Lavery didn't think about that, so I want to beat him to the punch. I would imagine that Kendall and the baby will be ready to go home tomorrow sometime and I want us to be able to go together."

"Consider it done. Zach, he's not going to win. No way in hell is he going to get away with this. You take care of her."

"Don't worry about Kendall. I'm going to make sure she is fine. You need to make sure that your wife doesn't try to interfere or do something stupid."

"Yeah."

"Let me know when you've got the order." Zach snapped his phone shut and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. He'd lost track of how many hours he had been awake and he could feel the exhaustion catching up with him. He felt himself starting to calm down when he felt a hand sneaking up his arm. He opened his eyes to see Maria smirking at him.

"You look exhausted."

He jerked his arm away from her. "Don't touch me."

She leaned into him, smiling coyly. "You used to like it when I touched you."

"Well, a lot has changed."

"Has it now? You sure about that."

Zach pushed himself off the wall and stared at her. "Absolutely." Maria just shrugged her shoulders. "Why are you doing this, Maria? You can't possibly have anything to gain by siding with Lavery."

"Don't be so sure about that."

"You want money? I can write you a check right now if it will get you the hell out of town again."

"Money? I've got plenty of money. What I want is my life back."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"My life, the one I had to leave because of you and Kendall and the whole mess. I liked that life and I want it back."

"And by it, do you mean me?"

"Well, you are part of that life that I want back, so yeah, I guess, a little bit. Sam and Maddie are in college and on their own, so I decided to finally reclaim my life. But you know what happened when I started out. I found out that Kendall had sucked you into whatever little game she's playing. You have to fight fire with fire sometimes."

"It's never going to happen, Maria. Kendall's not playing me and I'm not using her. She's my wife, she's who I love, who I want to spend my life with."

Maria shrugged. "We'll see." She pushed herself off of the wall and ran her finger along his jaw line. "I'll see you later." With that, she sauntered down the hall and around the corner.

Zach did his best to keep his temper under control as he walked back to Kendall's room. His anger drifted away as he watched her humming with the baby in her arms. He walked over and dropped a kiss on her head.

"He's asleep" she whispered.

"You should follow his lead."

"As should you" she said, looking up at him. Without another word, Zach gently took the baby from Kendall and placed him back in the bassinet. He kicked off his shoes and slid under the covers with her. The bed was small and uncomfortable, but neither one care. Kendall curled up in Zach's arms, feeling relaxed for the first time all day. Their breathing slowed and they were soon asleep in the hospital bed, taking comfort in each other.

TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

The sun had only been up for an hour as Bianca walked into the hospital. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, between worrying about Kendall and her body still being on Paris time. Finally, at 6:30, she gave up and got out of bed. She sipped on her coffee as she walked through the empty hallways.

She found her way to Kendall's room and stopped, looking through the window. She smiled as she watched Zach and Kendall, asleep in each other's arms.

"They've been like that most of the night." Bianca turned and smiled at Jamie. "We had to wake them a few hours ago so that Kendall could feed the baby, but they immediately fell back asleep when we wheeled him out."

"He go back up the nursery?"

"Yeah, for a little while, anyway. Grandpa thought they could use some uninterrupted sleep and they've got to run some tests before he gets discharged. Heard about what Ryan's doing."

Bianca nodded. "Yeah, but Uncle Jack got Zach and Kendall temporary emergency custody so that they get to take him home today, so that's something." Jamie just nodded. Jamie hitched his thumb over his shoulder. "Well, I've got to get to rounds before classes this morning, so…"

"Yeah, go ahead." As Jamie walked away, Bianca yelled back at him. "Hey Jamie?" He turned over his shoulder and looked at her. "Thanks for watching them overnight."

"Anytime, Bianca."

She looked through the window one more time and decided to give them a little more time before waking them up. She figured a doctor would be prodding Kendall soon enough. She dropped her empty cup in a garbage can and headed toward the nursery.

As she rounded the corner, her blood started to boil as she saw him staring through the window. She stormed up to him and shoved him for all she was worth, sending him stumbling backwards.

"What the... Bianca?"

"Yeah, you son of a bitch. What the hell do you think you are doing?"

Ryan pushed himself off the ground. "Visiting my son before I head to the office, since I hear that he's going home with his mother today."

"Ryan, why are you doing this? I know that if you would just take a step back and sit down and talk to Kendall that you two could work something out. Why do this?"

"Because my son isn't sharing a home with that… Cambias monster."

She really wished that she had something to throw at him right now. "Jackass. So, what, anyone related to the Cambias family is… what, automatically a monster? What does that make Miranda? Or Ethan, since I thought he was your friend!"

"Miranda and Ethan are different than Alex Jr."

"How?"

"They just are, Bianca. Miranda's got you, Ethan had the Ramsey's, they got out."

"So did Zach."

"No he didn't. He may talk a big game, but in the end, he's playing us, just like the old man did."

"Ryan, you have got to stop this. You have…"

"Bianca, you don't know the havoc he's caused. He's the reason this baby is part me and Kendall instead of part me and Greenlee. Did you know that?"

"Ryan, I know all about it. I may live in Paris, but I do talk to my sister periodically and, let me tell you what, when it came right down to it, she hated you more for the whole reveal than Zach for actually doing it."

"He drove Greenlee away and now he's trying to steal my family right from under my nose so that he can make some sort of amends for how badly he treated Ethan, and I'm not going to let that happen. He doesn't get to have my son to make up for screwing Ethan over."

"So, what? You're going to destroy Kendall in the process? Shatter her heart into a million pieces just so that you can get a leg up on Zach?"

Ryan looked back through the window, staring at the baby. "She brought this on herself, Bianca. She shouldn't have…"

"What? She shouldn't have decided to be happy, to have a life, to have love? What?"

"She just shouldn't have. She's got no one to blame but herself." Ryan looked at his watch. "I've got to go. See you." He took off before she could say another word.

Bianca just shook her head and looked into the nursery. She laid eyes on her nephew and she smiled. She decided right there that she was going to do everything in her power to help her sister and Zach have what they deserved. She looked at the baby again, closely this time and something seemed… off. She wasn't sure, but she knew better than to not trust her instincts.

She nodded at the little boy and blew him a kiss before heading off to Kendall's room.

TBC…


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

"It's too soon."

"Kendall, Joe said he would be fine. The neo-natal specialist said he would be fine. He's going to be fine."

"It's too soon."

Zach just shook his head and continued packing Kendall's bag. Kendall was worried, and had every right to be. He knew that she thought the baby would be safer in the hospital than out where Ryan could get to him. Zach agreed, but had taken every precaution to make sure that didn't happen, including 24 hour protection wherever they went.

The door opened and Jackson walked in, court paper in hand. "Here's the official copy. I've given one to Joe and one's been delivered to Ryan over at Cambias. You two ready to go?"

Kendall looked up at him. "It's too soon. I'm going to tell Joe that…"

Zach walked up behind his wife and put his hands on her shoulders, pulling her back against him. "Kendall" he whispered into her ear "it's going to be fine. Now, breathe."

Kendall took a deep breathe and looked over her shoulder at him, smiling slightly. "Sorry about that."

"No problem." She turned her attention back to Jackson. "What happens now?"

Jackson sighed. "You take the baby home."

"I mean after that Jackson. I can't believe that Ryan's attorneys didn't put up a fight."

"Smart girl. They did, actually. They insisted that a family worker keep on eye on the baby. The worker will be over tomorrow to do an initial check before heading to Wildwind."

Kendall froze. "I'm sorry… did you say Wildwind?"

Jackson nodded slowly. "It would seem that Ryan has moved into Wildwind with Maria and…"

Kendall whipped around, facing Zach. "WILDWIND! How is that going to look, Zach? We've got a condo; they've got a mansion with acres and acres of land. Who wouldn't want a child living there?" The tears fell down her face faster than Zach could wipe them away.

"Kendall, don't worry about that. It's just a ploy – Lavery knows that he will have trouble convincing anyone that he has the better family for Spike than we would, so he's trying to distract them with the home. We've got the substance – the court will see that."

That seemed to do the trick. Kendall's tears stopped and she nodded. "You trust me, Mrs. Slater?" he whispered in her ear.

"I do, Mr. Slater."

"Then let's go get the boy and go home." Kendall nodded and looped her arm through his, heading out.

* * *

"Zach, where's the car?"

"Over there."

"Zach, all I see over there is a red Navigator."

"Yeah, well…" Zach stopped when he realized Kendall wasn't walking next to him anymore. He looked down at the baby in the carrier in his hand and smiled. "I think I shocked Mommy." He turned to see her staring at him, wide eyed. "I was right."

"What… when…" She was stunned. It made him laugh.

"I got Edie to help me out. Figured we needed a family car, so Edie traded the Porsche for me this morning. Apparently, she got a very good deal for me, so…" Kendall walked over and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you" she whispered into his neck.

"Anything for my family. Now, we really need to go because I'm not changing a dirty diaper in my new car." Kendall laughed and wiped her face. She watched Zach strap the baby into the car, talking to him the whole time. 'My men' she thought to herself, smiling widely.

"You just going to stand there and stare at us or are you going to get in the car?" Zach's voice brought her back. She kissed him lightly as he held the door open for her. He just shook his head and rounded the car, taking his family home.

* * *

"Are they shut?"

"Zach, I can't see anything."

"That's the point. Are your eyes shut?"

"You really think its necessary, what with the blindfold and everything?"

"Yes, because you are a cheater who can't stand not knowing what's going on. Now, are your eyes shut?"

"For the love of God, yes." She felt Zach wrap on arm around her waist and the other take her hand. "Wait a minute, where's the baby?"

"On top of the car. I'll get him in a minute."

"ZACH!" she screeched at the top of her lungs. She felt him start to laugh, so she elbowed him. "You're not funny."

"I beg to differ, my dear." They walked slowly through the courtyard. She heard Zach push open a door and help her inside. She heard the door click and Zach's hands on her shoulders. "You ready?" His breath on her neck made her a little light headed and all she could do was nod.

"SURPRISE" Bianca, Miranda, and Myrtle yelled as Zach took off the blindfold. Kendall was shocked and could only look around.

She wouldn't have known that this was her condo if Zach hadn't told her that that is where they were going. Her red couch was gone. In its place was Zach's living room furniture and gliding rocker. A small table with four chairs sat in the alcove next to kitchen. One the far side of the living room was an automatic rocker and a large chest, filled with toys, she guessed. The stark white walls were now a warm beige and it felt like home.

She looked over at her sister. "When…" was all she could get out.

"Well, we've been busy bees, to say the least, but Lord knows we couldn't have gotten this done without some help from the Season maintenance crew."

Kendall looked up at Zach. "You… you did this?"

"I dare the court worker to choose Wildwind over this place" he said, smiling with a twinkle in his eyes.

"But, where will Spike sleep?"

"SPIKE!" Miranda yelled at the top of her lungs, running out of the living room. Bianca just shook her head. "She loves the name, by the way. She's been dying to show you two this." Kendall walked in the direction that Miranda had gone. She took one step into what had been her storage area and the tears started to fall. She felt a small squeeze on her hand and looked down at Miranda.

"Spike's room" she whispered. Kendall was in awe. It was the perfect nursery – a rocking chair, a beautiful changing table, and the most elaborate crib she had ever seen. The walls were light yellow with an animal border along the top of the walls. Kendall walked over and ran her fingers along Spike's forehead as he slept in the crib.

She felt Zach's arms go around her waist and she leaned back into him. "We moved some of my stuff in. The rest of your stuff is over in my condo. We just wanted to make sure that…"

Kendall turned in his arms and nodded. "It's perfect, Zach, perfect. Thank you." She looked over his shoulder to Bianca, Miranda, and Myrtle. "Thank you all. I can't even tell you…"

"Then don't worry about it, my dear" Myrtle said, holding up her hand. Kendall nodded and looked back down at Spike.

"Zach, what if…"

"Don't even say it, Kendall, because it's never going to happen. Spike's going to grow up right where he should, with his mother. Now, you should go lay down. You know what they say; the mother should sleep while the baby sleeps. I'll come get you in a little while and we'll eat dinner."

Zach walked Kendall into the bed room. She kicked off her shoes and crawled into bed. Zach pulled the covers over her, tucking her in. "I'm exhausted" she said, barely able to keep her eyes open.

"Joe said that would happen for the next few days. You just need to take it easy and your stamina will come back." Kendall nodded and closed her eyes. Zach sat there, watching her until she was completely asleep. He dropped a light kiss on her forehead and quietly made his way out of the bedroom, shutting the door.

He ran his hand through his hair as he walked back out into the living room. Myrtle and Bianca sat on the couch as Miranda pulled some of the toys out of the chest. Zach collapsed on to the couch.

"Lavery's not going to get away with this."

"No he's not" Bianca said, nodding her head.

Zach slid his eyes over to her. "You got an idea or something?"

"Call it a hunch. Trust me, alright. Uncle Jack is going to do everything he can. There's no way Ryan's going to get away with this."

"Agreed" Myrtle said. "But let's not think about that now. You've got your family at home, and that's all that really matters now. We'll worry about the rest later."

TBC…


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **As requested - I so wasn't going to do this chapter, but apparently this is what people want to see instead of LameAssLavery doing his best ThreateningZach impression. Enjoy!

* * *

Zach set the last of the dishes down to dry. The five of them had enjoyed a nice dinner without talking about the crap that was going on outside their door. Kendall had gone to bed not too long after Bianca, Myrtle and Miranda had left. The two of them spent some time with the baby while Kendall fed him. Spike immediately went back to sleep and Kendall decided to join him. Zach was wiping his hands on the towel when he heard a light knock on the door. He opened the door and froze.

"Hi Zach. Is… I just wanted… how's Kendall and the baby?"

Zach was appalled at his audacity. "Get the hell out of here, Junior, before something bad happens to you."

"Zach, please, I just want to see her real quick and then…"

"She's asleep and even if she wasn't, there's no way in hell you are getting anywhere near my wife."

JR walked and looked around. "This place looks different."

"I'm not kidding mini-Chandler, get the hell out of here."

"I heard that… that the baby is fine and everything."

"No, JR, everything's not fine and that's because of you."

"I heard about Ryan."

"Yeah, Lavery. Because of your stunt, Kendall didn't get to do things the way she wanted and now her world is slowly being shattered."

JR collapsed on the couch. "Zach, I know, I know. I'm not in the right frame of mind right now because my mother…"

"Shove it, Junior. You're a grown man. Quit trying to pawn your control problems on your mother."

"I know, it's not excuse. I'm responsible for what happened. All these doubts about Babe started creeping into my head and, well, it wasn't supposed to be Kendall that afternoon."

"Yes, I realize that my wife got in the way of your plans to kill your wife. Noble."

JR pushed himself off the couch. "Look, I didn't come here for forgiveness."

"Well, that's a good thing. Wouldn't want you to leave here disappointed."

"Zach, I just… I came to make sure that they were alright and to say goodbye. I'm headed to rehab. Dad took all my assets and Babe is threatening to leave me with Little A if I don't so…"

"What? You're backed into a corner so you're doing the right thing now."

"I guess so."

"Don't expect me to be impressed."

"I'm not. Just… just tell her I came by, that I was worried and that… I'm sorry. She doesn't have to forgive me, but I need her to know."

Zach sighed. "Fine, I'll tell her that you were here, that you're leaving town, and that you're sorry that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, don't expect anything else, Junior. She's got too much on her mind right now to be dealing with your crap, especially since this is your fault."

"But, Zach, you need to understand that I'm not…"

Zach had enough. He grabbed the lapels of JR's jacket with both hands and dragged him close, shoving him between his body and the wall.

"Listen to me, Junior. You could have killed her, her and the baby. You could have destroyed my life just as I got it back. So, forgive me for not listening to your excuses or indulging your guilt. Now, get the hell out of here."

Zach released him and took a step back. JR nodded and left. Zach turned out the lights and checked on the baby one last time before heading to bed. He took off his clothes and crawled under the covers. He felt Kendall shift and scoot up next to him. He threw his arm over her waist and placed a light kiss on her shoulder.

"Who was at the door?" she asked in a sleepy voice.

"We'll talk about it later. Get some sleep. I'm sure Spike will be screaming for you in a few hours." Kendall nodded and went back to sleep. Zach watched her for a moment, marveling at how peaceful she seemed, asleep in his arms. Nothing felt better to him, nothing.

TBC…


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

Zach just held her hand while she cried. "Kendall, please, you have to calm down."

"I'm not leaving him, Zach, I'm not."

Zach sighed and glared at the front door of Wildwind. The court worker, along with the judge, decided that the baby should spend one night a week with Ryan and Maria and tonight was the first night. They had been out of the hospital for four days and Ryan was throwing a fit at not having any kind of visitation, so the judge decided that this was in the best interest of all parties.

Zach glanced over his seat at Bianca, sitting in the back seat next to Spike. Bianca leaned forward and put her hand on Kendall's shoulder. "Sweetie, you'll see him tomorrow night. It's going to be fine." Kendall sobbed and wrapped her arms around Zach's neck. He pulled her as close as he could. Bianca got out of the car, wiping her own tears away. She pulled out the overnight bag Kendall had packed. She watched as Zach walked around the car and opened Kendall's door. He pulled her into his arms and held her, whispering to her. She watched as Kendall opened the back door and took Spike's carrier out of the back seat. She watched as the two of them spoke to him softly, telling him that everything was going to be fine and that they would see him soon. 'I've got to do something' she thought to herself.

Ryan threw the doors and open and walked out. "Give him to me" he demanded. Kendall choked back a sob as Zach took the carrier from her. He just glared as he handed Spike over to Ryan. Maria appeared from behind Ryan and took the carrier from him. "Come to momma" she said to him.

Kendall lost it. "BITCH!" she screamed at her. "That's my son, Santos, MINE! Don't you dare…" Kendall tried to take off toward Maria, but Zach grabbed her before she could get very far. Zach pulled her back to the car and put her in the front seat. He whipped around on his heel and glared at Maria. "Don't ever try anything like that again" he spit out at her.

Bianca threw the overnight bag at Ryan, glaring at him. She opened the back door and climbed in as Zach peeled out of the driveway.

By the time they got back to the condo, Kendall had cried herself to sleep. She had stayed up the entire night, just watching the baby sleep, not wanting to miss a moment since she knew she had to give him to Ryan for the night. Zach carried her into the condo and put her in bed, wrapping the comforter around her. He laid down next to her, running his hand over her hair.

Bianca watched this and knew that she needed to act now. "I'll be back later" she whispered into the bedroom. Zach just nodded and Bianca pulled the door closed.

* * *

45 minutes later, she turned off the car. She had gone by Myrtle's to check on Miranda and eat a quick lunch with her. She filled Myrtle in on the scene that had taken place at Wildwind and about what she was going to do. Myrtle agreed that something needed to be done.

Bianca got out of the car and looked around. It had been a long time since she had been up here, but the place hadn't changed one bit. She walked up the door and knocked. He smiled brightly at her as he opened the door.

"Bianca? I didn't know you were in town." He pulled her in for a hug. "It's good to see you."

"You too David."

"What can I do for you?

"I need your help."

TBC…


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1

* * *

"Kendall, you're not going."

"Yes, I am, Zach."

"No, really, you're not. Not after what Maria pulled yesterday."

"And what? I'm supposed to let you go by yourself. Yeah right – Maria and Ryan will push your buttons and then you'll do something stupid like deck Ryan and he'll run right to court. So, no, you're not going by yourself."

"Well, you're not coming with me."

"Well, it would seem that we are at an impasse, aren't we?"

They just glared at each other. It really wasn't each other they were mad at. The stress of the battle and Ryan and Maria was starting to get to them. She knew that something had to be done and it needed to be done now.

"I'll go." They both whipped around and stared at Bianca. They had forgotten that she had been standing there.

Zach just shook his head. "Bianca, really, you don't…"

"No, it's fine. Hell, it even makes sense. I'll be able just to go in and get Spike – no fuss. No Ryan and Maria trying to push your buttons, just a stress free transfer." Zach looked back at Kendall. "Well, it does make a little sense."

Kendall narrowed her eyes at her sister. "Binks, are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine." They both nodded and Zach pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Here, take the Navigator."

Bianca took the keys from him, freezing for a moment. "Bianca… Bianca, you alright?" She shook her head and smiled. "Oh yeah, fine. I just… I need to use the bathroom before I go." She made a beeline for the bathroom and shut the door. She looked around and her eyes landed on the hamper. She threw it open and smiled. 'Thank God for Kendall and her laundry procrastination!' she thought. Right on top was one of Spike's dirty bibs. She pulled out two plastic bags of her bag and dropped Spike's bib into it. She grabbed Kendall's brush off the counter and dropped it in the other. She put both bags back in her purse and smiled at herself in the mirror.

She threw open the door and flew through the living room. "We'll be back in a little while" she yelled over her shoulder. Zach and Kendall just watched her march through the courtyard toward the parking lot.

"She alright?" Zach asked.

"I have no idea" Kendall said, shaking her head.

* * *

He was waiting for her by the Navigator.

"You get it?" She pulled out the bib and brush. "Will this stuff work?"

David nodded. "Yeah, definitely. You going alone?"

"Yeah. Convincing them was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be."

"Let's go then." Bianca and David climbed into the SUV and headed toward Wildwind.

* * *

Bianca looked over her shoulder and knocked on the door. Ryan answered and smiled at her.

"Hey, Binks. How's it going?"

"Stuff it, Ryan. I'm here for Spike."

"What – Zach and Kendall too busy for the trip?"

"Please, like they would want to come back here after the stunt the two of you pulled yesterday."

Bianca heard Spike crying from inside the house as Maria appeared behind Ryan. "Ryan, your son is crying again. Stop it, would you? I'm going for a ride." She blew past Bianca without as much as a look. Ryan turned on his heel and headed inside. Bianca looked back over her shoulder and nodded. David snuck past her and ran up the stairs as Bianca shut the door.

Bianca walked into the living room and picked Spike up out of his carrier. "There, there little man. Aunt Bianca's here. You ready to go home?"

Spike quit crying and looked up at Bianca. "How did you do that?" Ryan asked from behind her.

"You either got it or you don't, Ryan. It's nothing I can teach you." She'd had about enough of him and his small talk to last a lifetime. "Is this everything?"

"Yeah."

Bianca leaned down and peered into the bag. "Really? You sure? I thought that there were 5 bottles packed, not 4." She stared at him.

He sighed. "Let me go check the kitchen again." Ryan turned the corner and Bianca glanced over her shoulder to see David sneaking out the front door. She smiled and turned back when she heard Ryan coming back.

"Look, there's not an extra bottle in the kitchen. Are you sure…"

"I could be wrong. Don't worry about it." She put Spike in his carrier and grabbed the bag off the couch. "Later" she yelled over her shoulder.

She got Spike strapped into the back of the car and climbed into the driver seat. She looked over at David. "You get what you need?"

"You bet."

"Good. Let's get out of here. Can you get this done before court?"

"Yeah, no problem."

Bianca just sighed and threw the car into drive.

* * *

That night, Ryan stormed out into the bedroom. "What did you do with my toothbrush?"

Maria looked up from her book. "What?"

"My toothbrush. It's not there."

"Oh yeah, that's right, I put it on my little Ryan alter. How the hell should I know where your toothbrush is? Just get a new one out of the cabinet."

* * *

Kendall pulled open the drawer for the fifth time. "ZACH!" He appeared in the doorway. "Yeah."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Where's my brush?"

"Don't you have like 35 brushes?"

"I have three, smartass. I can't find my paddle brush – have you seen it?"

"I have no idea what that means." He just shook his head and walked away. Kendall pulled another brush out of the drawer, flustered that her other brush was there this morning, but had disappeared by tonight.

TBC…


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **just one more 'piss you off' chapter before the evilness gets theirs!

* * *

He didn't want to be here, but he didn't have a choice. He hadn't been to the casino since Spike was born two weeks ago and with court tomorrow, he knew he needed to be here today. He was doing is afternoon walkthrough, making notes on his clipboard, when he felt someone walking next to him. He looked over and groaned.

"Love what you've done with the place, Zach. Must be Kendall's touch." He ignored her. "You two must be doing well, what with the casino and Fusion money." He looked over at the blackjack pit and made some notes on his clipboard. "I mean, all this power and business must make for some interesting dinner conversation." Zach started to walk faster, hoping to get away from her.

"You can't ignore me Zach" she said. She grabbed his arm and pulled him around, pushing him into the wall. Before he knew what was happening, she had her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him.

He felt sick. He dropped his clipboard and shoved her away from him with all his might. "Just what the hell do you think you are doing!" he screamed at her.

"Getting your attention. Worked, didn't it?"

"Get the hell out of my casino, Maria."

"You still got the casita replica?"

"No, I gutted it. It's offices now."

"Too bad."

"What are you doing?"

"Just wanted to stop in and say hi."

Zach ran his hand over his forehead, trying to get a grip on his anger. "Listen, Maria, I don't know what you think you are doing, but you need to stop it. You need to leave us alone. Hell, I really think you need to leave town, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen anytime soon. I love Kendall, Maria. She's my wife. She makes my happy. She's who I want to spend my life with. Please get that and leave me alone." He stormed away from her. She just watched him go.

As Zach disappeared around the corner, a man walked up behind Maria. She glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled. "You get it?"

"You bet" he said, holding up a camera.

"Good. Send those to me tonight." She dug an envelope of money out of her purse and handed it over to him. He quickly counted the money and nodded at her. She left the casino, grinning the entire time.

TBC…


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: **see chapter 1  
**A/N: **Let the ass whoopin commence!

* * *

Zach, Kendall and Bianca walked into the courthouse that morning, Spike in tow. As the rounded the corner to the courtroom, Jackson was waiting for them. He motioned them into a small conference room. He shut the door and sighed, turning to face Zach.

"We've got a last minute addition to Ryan's witness list."

Kendall looked at Zach then at Jackson. "Who?" Jackson walked over to his briefcase and pulled out a manila envelope. He handed it to Zach and just stared at him. Zach opened the flap and pulled out its contents.

"That little bitch" he said under his breath.

"Zach?" Kendall crossed the room to him and looked at the pictures of Zach and Maria kissing.

Jackson sat down in a chair and crossed his arms. "Explain."

"Zach?" Kendall looked up at him.

Zach ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "I should have known that she was up to something, but…"

"When did this happen?"

"Yesterday. I swear, I wasn't hiding anything. I just forgot. I was doing my afternoon walkthrough, trying to get caught up so I could get out there and home for dinner when Maria just came out of nowhere. She kept babbling on about something, but I was ignoring and her… well, then she did that. I swear if it's a problem, I'll have Edie pull the tapes and bring them over here right now."

"You believe him, Kendall?" Jackson asked, looking at his step-daughter.

She smiled at Zach, taking his hand. "Always."

"Good, so do I."

Zach looked at Jackson. "So this photographer, he's the new witness?"

"Yup."

"Make sure you ask him how much Maria paid him."

"Already on my list of questions."

Zach nodded and they all exited the conference room. As Bianca shut the door, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see David, smiling at her like he had just saved the world.

"You're one smart woman, Bianca Montgomery" he said, handing her a thin envelope.

"Is this…"

"Yeah. Nice work."

"You too, Dr. Hayward. C'mon. We need to tell Uncle Jack."

They walked into the courtroom and made a beeline for Jackson. David looked over at Maria and Ryan, who were staring at him. He gave them a little wave and turned back to answer Jackson's question.

TBC…


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: **see chapter one

* * *

Bianca could barely keep the grin off her face as opening statements started. 'This ends today' she thought to herself. She looked over at David, who wagged his eyebrows and her and returned her smile.

Ryan's attorney questioned his witnesses first. Di was on the stand, talking about how she was living at Wildwind with Maria and Ryan. Kendall wanted to choke her as she talked about how loving and good Maria and Ryan where to the baby and that she couldn't imagine a better set of parents for the boy. As she talked about the blackout and Zach's roll in it, Zach squeezed Kendall's hand. 'If looks could kill, Di would drop dead right now' he thought, looking at his wife, shooting daggers at Di Henry.

Maria's photographer was next. Ryan's attorney threw softball questions at him, not really asking anything. "Mr. Montgomery, any questions for this witness?"

"Just a few." Jackson got out of his chair and walked over to the photographer.

"Sir, who told you to be at the Seasons East Casino yesterday?"

"Mrs. Lavery."

"Why?"

"She said she needed pictures of her and a guy kissing."

"And did you get that picture?"

"Yes, I did."

"And how much did you get paid for that picture?"

"25 grand."

"No further questions." Zach could barely contain his laughter at how the photographer had just sold Maria down the river without giving it much of a thought.

"You son of a bitch" she shouted at him as he walked by. The photographer smiled at her. "I got my cash, doll. Don't care about the rest of it." He left the court room whistling and Bianca laughed out loud.

Ryan's attorney sat down. "We have no more witness." The judge looked at Jackson. "Mr. Montgomery?"

"Your honor, I call Dr. David Hayward to the stand."

"OBJECTION" Ryan's attorney screamed. "He's not on the witness list."

"And neither was your paid photographer until this morning. Your honor, I just received some very pertinent information right before these proceedings started."

"Approach" the judge said, waving them over. Zach and Kendall looked at each other and over at Maria and Ryan. None of them seemed to know what was going on. Kendall looked over her shoulder at her sister, who was grinning like a mad man. "Binks?"

"Don't worry, Kendall. Your little sister has your back."

Kendall turned back around. She watched as Jackson handed paperwork to the judge and Ryan's attorney. Kendall's eyes went wide as the color seemed to drain from Ryan's attorney's face. "I'll allow the witness" the judge said, dismissing them from the bench. David sat down in the witness stand as Ryan's attorney dropped into his chair, shaking his head.

"What's going on?" Maria whispered to him.

"We're done. This is over now" he said, looking at David.

Jackson nodded at David and handed him the paperwork he had brought in earlier. "Dr. Hayward, would you care to explain to the court what that is?"

"It would be my pleasure, Jackson. On a hunch from Kendall Slater's sister, Bianca Montgomery, I performed an independent DNA test on the baby. I compared DNA from the baby, Mrs. Slater and Mr. Lavery."

"And what did you find?"

"That the baby is 100 percent Kendall's and zero percent Ryan's. Ryan is not the father of Kendall's baby." Zach could have kissed David in this moment. His eyes went wide and his mouth dropped open. Kendall whipped around and looked at Bianca.

"You took my brush!" Bianca just nodded and Kendall turned back to David.

"Dr. Hayward, are you sure about the results?"

"Yes, Jackson, absolutely. I ran the test twice myself and had a friend at another hospital run the results once, just to make sure. Everything has been documented and verified in that file. There is no way that Ryan Lavery is the father of Kendall's child."

"Do you know who the father is?"

David just shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't. The father's DNA is unknown, but I would imagine that Greg Madden would know a little something about that."

"I'm going to kill him" Kendall said, looking at Zach.

"Your honor" Jackson said, approaching the bench, "I ask that this lawsuit be dropped since Ryan Lavery has no stake in this child."

The judge looked over at Ryan's attorney. "Any objections?" Ryan's attorney shook his head. "Motion granted, Mr. Montgomery. Case dismissed." The judged banged his gavel and left, but no one really noticed. Kendall was crying as Zach held her. Zach reached out for Bianca and pulled her into the hug. Jackson was shaking David's hand and thanking him for all his help. Ryan and Maria were screaming at each other.

Zach looked over his shoulder as Maria stormed out of the courtroom, cursing Ryan as she left. He just laughed slightly and kissed Kendall's head. "What do you say we take Spike home?"

"That sounds perfect" she said. Bianca handed Zach the carrier and they all left the courtroom as one happy family.

TBC…


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer:** see chapter 1

* * *

_3 months later_

Kendall leaned over, putting her head on Zach's shoulder as he read his book. She looked down at Spike in his carrier, sound asleep. "You know that he's going to wake up as soon as the plane takes off and cry the entire flight."

Zach chuckled and turned the page in his book. "Probably."

Kendall sighed and smiled. She had been looking forward to this for 6 weeks. The media frenzy around her and Spike had been insane. The DA started to look into Madden as soon as Jackson handed over David's findings. After doing some digging, the DA found out that all of the donors from Madden's bank were from the same man. When Greg was arrested, all he said was that he had been doing humanity a favor by giving the world the perfect children. The police and the DA had tried for weeks to get him to give up whom Donor number 1 was, but Greg wasn't talking. He had refused all deals and had fired his attorney so that he could act as his own counsel. The afternoon that Kendall and Spike got trapped in the car by the press was the day Zach decided they need to get out of Pine Valley for awhile.

Zach shrugged his shoulder lightly, getting Kendall's attention. "Check that out."

Across the waiting area were Maria and Ryan, screaming at each other. Zach and Kendall couldn't really hear what they were saying, but Ryan got up in her face only to be slapped with everything that Maria had. They watched as she pulled the band off her left hand and threw it at him. "DON'T EVER CALL ME AGAIN, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Everyone in the airport had heard that. Zach smirked as Maria picked up her bag and stormed over to the gate for the flight to Los Angeles.

"And they lived happily ever after" he said. Kendall laughed loudly, not caring that people were staring. She had heard that Ryan and Maria had been making public spectacles out of themselves. Her favorite was the day she stormed a Cambias board meeting because her credit card was maxed out. Apparently, that had been the proverbial straw and they were doing their best to get the quickest of quickie divorces.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will now begin pre-boarding for flight 824, Pine Valley to Chicago to Paris. Anyone who needs assistance or who are flying with small children, please make your way to the gate."

"That's us" Zach said, closing his book as Kendall picked up the carry on bag. Zach picked up the carrier and threw his other arm over Kendall's shoulder.

* * *

"ZACH! KENDALL!" Bianca waved as she saw them coming up the escalator. Miranda ran over and Zach scooped her up, swinging her around. Bianca took Spike from Kendall and gave her a hug. "How's it going?"

Kendall sighed. "Well, the press has only backed off a little bit, but on the bright side, we got to witness Maria and Ryan implode in the airport this morning, so…" Bianca just laughed.

"C'mon, let's get your bags. Wait till you see the place I found."

The trip to Paris was two-fold. One was to get away from the press and the craziness that Greg Madden had pulled them into. The second was so that Bianca could finally get her wedding picture of Zach and Kendall. They had decided to renew their vows as they planned the trip to Paris and left it up to Bianca to find a place for them. Erica, Jackson, Myrtle, Opal, Palmer, Reggie, Simone, and Lily were coming in a few days.

They took in the view as the limo drove them out of the airport and into Paris. Before long, they were turning into a driveway. "Oh Binks" Kendall said as she rolled down the window. The limo came to a stop and Kendall jumped out. "Binks, this is perfect" she said, hugging her sister.

"Isn't it! There's a grotto around back that's perfect for the renewal and will make a beautiful picture for me to finally have. C'mon, let's get you all checked in."

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr. and Mrs. Zach Slater." Zach pulled Kendall flush to his body and kissed her wildly. She had refused to let him see her dress, which was a good thing, since he hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her since she had walked down the aisle. Kendall moaned lightly as he ran his fingers along her face. They had forgotten where they were until Kendall felt a tap on her shoulder. She pulled back and grinned at Bianca. "I want my picture now." Zach just shook his head and grabbed Kendall's hand, threading their fingers together.

Their small group ate and drank into the night, finally feeling relaxed for the first time in months. As the night drew to a close, Bianca walked back to the suite with Zach and Kendall. "Alright, time to hand over the kid."

"Bianca, are you sure? You don't have to…"

"Yes, yes I do. Spike will be fine. He'll sleep and be poked by his cousin. Fun for all. Now, hand him over!" They packed up what Bianca would need. As she walked toward the door, Kendall starting yelling things out to her about what Spike liked, what certain cries meant. Finally, Bianca glared at her.

"You remember that I've done this before, right?" Kendall just stared at her. "We'll be fine. You'll see him tomorrow. The limo will be here at noon to bring you all out for lunch. Until them, see what you two can come up with to preoccupy yourselves." Bianca left and Zach shut the door. He caught her eyes and she froze. She never got tired of seeing that look, knowing it was directed at her. "So, Mrs. Slater" he purred at her in that low, gravely voice of his. "Whatever shall we do with our evening?" He put his hand on her waist and pulled her to his body, running his lips lightly over her neck. She moaned and threw her arms around Zach's neck.

"How about we get naked and see where things go from there" she said, smiling at him coyly. He leaned down and lifted her up into his arms. "I like the way your mind works" he said, walking them into the bedroom.

THE END


End file.
